Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander | 
| Author: Ann Herendeen
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Category: EBooks
List Price: $11.95
Buy New: $9.56
You Save: $2.39 (20%)
Rating:  8 reviews
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 560
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
ASIN: B0017ZMZ14
Publication Date: April 29, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The meddling mothers of the Regency would do anything to wed their daughters to Andrew Carrington, the wealthy, handsome, and athletic heir to an earldom. There is one problem, however. No woman in all England would suit the determined bachelor, for Andrew far prefers the company of men -- at his table and in his bedroom. But with privilege comes responsibility. Andrew must take a bride. And while Phyllida Lewis, the penniless, spirited, and curvaceous author of romantic novels, is not quite what his family had in mind, a marriage to her would enable Andrew to live his life as he pleases. The arrival of Matthew Thornby, the honorable and dashing son of a self-made baronet, into their cozy arrangement makes Andrew's happiness complete. Yet a shrewd enemy is waiting in the wings, threatening to expose them all -- an act that will surely lead to scandal and ruin.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
"You have written, and loved, truer than any man or woman." September 19, 2008
A. Lee (L.A., CA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Plucky authoress, Phyllida enters into a marriage of convenience with a twist. Sure, she's pressured by her somewhat disreputable mother to marry, but she's not desperate, by any means. She's got her writing and she's not ancient nor ugly, nor particularly wanting a husband. But Andrew Carrington, heir to an Earldom, is much more pleasant than she expected; quite gentlemanly and understanding... and handsome. He looks like he could be one of the characters of her sensationalist gothic romances, fact.
Despite herself, she's smitten, even though the agreement is that he be free to pursue his own pleasure, which happens to be with other men, and that she be free to write her books. In a further twist, it seems as if Andrew becomes more interested in his bride than anyone anticipated and he isn't going through the motions merely to beget an heir.
Marrying Andrew not only causes difficulties for Phyllida because he has no idea of how to have a relationship (sexual or otherwise) with a woman, she also has to contend with the Brotherhood of Philander, Andrew's friends, members of a select gentleman's club founded so that men of like interest could feel safe and free to pursue their particular interests, in this case, other men, of course. And at White's there is a bet on whether Andrew will spawn an heir or not. Added to this is a French spy who may bring down the Brotherhood in scandal and ruin.
The tone is light and quite bawdy, full of amusing banter and fun situations (and sex, not gratuitous, but explicit enough). The club members, from the founding members of the previous generation, to the young bucks, are all a hoot. There are also darker tones to balance out the fluff a bit: hints of the dangers the men face committing sodomy, which is a grave offense, the looming possibility of blackmail, soldiers, the war and espionage, slavery, prostitution and attempted rape.
At times the plot and cast of characters did seem to distract from the relationship between Phyllida and Andrew--and the male love Andrew finds later. The character development also suffers a little. But they were all still quite sympathetic (with flaws).
I found this book imperfect, but still extremely enjoyable.
 not stunning, but likeable July 6, 2008
C. McIntyre (San Jose, CA, USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander is the story of Phyllida, an author of trashy gothic romances, and her bisexual husband, Andrew Carrington. Andrew married Phyllida in order to do his duty by his family and secure an heir. Phyllida married Andrew in order to be able to continue her career as an authoress. Both went into the marriage with open eyes, knowing Andrew would continue his dalliances with his male friends (in the titular Brotherhood of Philander). Neither expected to fall in love with the other.
Reading Phyllida reminded me greatly of quite a few fanfics I enjoy. There's a three-sided relationship: Andrew and Phyllida, Andrew and his lover(s), and his lover(s)'s friendship with Phyllida. Add in some spying and there you go. Oh, and did I mention it's a Regency novel?
The book is...okay. It is not stunning, nor is it horrible. Like I said, it reminds me very much of many fanfics I have read. The author weaves the lives of the characters - not only Phyllida and Andrew, but those of the entire Brotherhood - in and out of each other throughout the novel, and throws in a spy subplot to (it seems) draw the entire story out another two hundred pages. I would have been happy without the spy subplot, just reading the story of Andrew, Phyllida, Harry, Matthew, and the rest of the Brotherhood.
I stayed up all night to read the last two hundred pages, because I was engrossed with the characters' stories. However, I don't think I'll be borrowing this from the library again, nor will I be purchasing it any time soon.
 A Great Summer Read May 6, 2008
Amos Lassen (Little Rock, Arkansas)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
Herendeen, Ann. "Phyllida and the Brotherhood of Philander", Harper, 2008.
A Great Summer Read
Amos Lassen
This is Ann Herendeen's first novel and it is just a delight to read. Herendeen breathes new life into the romance novel. She takes a look at sexuality, class, gender and gives us a wonderful love story which is full of wit, humor and romance. The characters are fantastic and the author's look at the regency world is so very interesting.
Phyllida Lewis, a young and beautiful writer agrees to enter into a marriage of convenience with Andrew Carrington, a gay heir to an earldom. She is attracted to him but she knows that he is more interested in men, especially those who are his friends in the Brotherhood of Philander--an elite gentlemen's club. She soon discovers that her husband has absolutely no idea of the ways to satisfy a woman. Andrew is the penultimate society gentleman and Phyllida is a writer of anonymous romance novels. What began as a marriage turns into drama and each tries to protect the other from any kind of harm. What eventually happens is that they end up hurting each other.
Herendeen created the character of Andrew to be the typical fop and there were times I just wanted to get into it with him but Phyllida always managed to hold her own.
The book is an easy read and is really a lot of fun and Ann Herendeen knows how to tell a story.
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